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Kal-El
Kal-El, also known as Superman, is a fictional character and hero in comic books published by the American company DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938), but his first appearance in Swamp Thing comics was in ''Swamp Thing'' Vol. 2 #24 (May 1984). He was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. History Origins The planet Krypton was on the brink of destruction, married scientists Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van built a rocket ship they could use to save their unborn son Kal-El in his gestation chamber. Jor-El administered a serum that would prevent Kal dying due to the biological link with Krypton that the artifact called the Eradicator had previously established in each of the inhabitants of that planet (the proximity to their planet was required for them to live; this was why Jor-El and Lara did not leave Krypton; the serum also supposedly would only work in fetuses). Jor-El wanted his son to reclaim the fullness in life denied him by the sterility of Kryptonian culture, a world where its inhabitants rarely had direct contact, and preferred to interact with each other virtually. Jor-El planned to send his son to a distant planet orbiting a yellow sun he had been studying for some time: Earth. Meanwhile, the view on a monitor of a Earthling working in a rural area startled Lara, who noticed he exposing his skin to the sun and stepping on unprocessed soil. Jor-El explained that exposure to the yellow sunlight would charge Kal-El cells into living solar batteries and gift him with incredible powers. Just before Krypton finally came to an end his parents sent him to Earth as they planned. Upon landing, the child was discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent in Smallville, Kansas. The kindly couple decided they would adopt and raise him, naming him Clark Kent. Apparently a normal child at first, who even got to break an arm after falling from a walnut tree when he was only 5 years old, Clark's abilities increased steadily as he grew up, with super-strength and invulnerability manifesting at an early age and the power of flight developing during high school. His adopted parents revealed the rocket and his foreign heritage to their son when he was 18, leading Clark to the decision that he would become a hero in secret and use his powers to protect innocents. During this time he pursued his education at Metropolis University while seeking out a living to put himself through school. He operated this way for seven years until he was forced to save a space-plane in front of crowds of people, then meeting reporter Lois Lane for the first time at age 25. Deciding that it was time for him to become a public figure, Clark and Jonathan designed a symbol for him to wear while Martha created a costume. In his secret identity, he would drastically change his physical appearance and mannerisms while wearing spectacles so that nobody would suspect he led a double civilian life. During his first costumed adventures in Metropolis, he was dubbed Superman by Lois Lane. Later she would comment his debut broke a taboo of several years, since no one saw real superheroes since the dissolution of the Justice Society in 1951. Clark began his new career as a reporter for the Daily Planet working for chief-editor Perry White, alongside Lois and cub reporter Jimmy Olsen, with Superman's first exclusive interview. The media coverage would eventually attract the attention of corrupt business mogul Lex Luthor, who tests Superman and tries to get him on the villain's payroll by withholding support during a terrorist attack. Mayor Franklin Berkowitz deputizes Superman so he can arrest Luthor, and Luthor swears his revenge. Repeated attempts to murder Superman eventually led to LexCorp developing an imperfect clone of the Kryptonian named Bizarro. Jimmy began using a signal watch of his own design to call Superman whenever he was in peril. Returning to Smallville after many years and sorting out childhood best friend Lana Lang's feelings for him, Superman is exposed to the rocket ship once again. This time he receives a message from his birth parents Jor-El and Lara, learning of Krypton for the first time when Kryptonian technology implants centuries of knowledge in his brain. Superman considers his dual heritage, and decides that no matter where he's from, his life on Earth has made him a human and an American. Powers and Abilities Powers *'Kryptonian Physiology:' Superman's cellular structure is much more dense, resilient, and biologically more effective than human tissue. He does not possess superhuman strength levels despite his enhanced cellular ability without his cellular structure charged with yellow solar energy. Without such charging, his physical capabilities are identical to a human of his height and weight who engages in regular physical activity. As an alien, he possesses several organs whose functions are not yet disclosed or understood, but are believed to be part of or the source of his bio-matrix force field and reclamation aura. Superman's body also stores energy actively within his bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to his body's electromagnetic field. This energy powers most of his electromagnetic capabilities such as flight, heat vision and other "sight"-based abilities while supplementing his physical abilities to superhuman levels. Superman has been shown to repel Darkseid's Omega Beams with his heat vision and has been shown to handle extreme heat from the Earth's Core. **'Solar Radiation Absorption:' As a Kryptonian, his cells function like a super battery, hyper metabolizing specific wavelengths of radiation as fuel to enable living functions and/or superhuman abilities. Different wavelengths of radiation have different effects on Superman's physiology and well being, but his cells cannot absorb or utilize all types of radiation. The wavelength of his home solar system's red sun enables his body to function on an identical level of a healthy human while the Earth's solar radiation in both its raw and filtered state through the Earth's atmosphere acts as fuel to enable all of his powers. Every time Superman uses any of his superhuman abilities, his body expends absorbed sunlight and he is capable utilizing any of them to various degrees through controlled circumstances. The solar-based radiation of a foreign blue star proved to increase his known abilities under a yellow sun to a higher degree and enabled additional powers. The existence and constant exposure to proven "healthy" radiation sources is not required for him to live and utilize his powers, but prolonged periods without exposure to them and/or utilizing his powers will require Kal-El to recharge in order to live and continue using his powers. ***'Superhuman Strength:' Superman possesses near limitless strength, though the exact limits of Superman's strength is unknown. He is capable of lifting far in excess of one billion tons. Different periods and intensities of exposure to Earth's solar radiation can cause his strength to fluctuate over time. Superman's known feats of strength include lifting an enormous pyramid and flying it to Mars without any strain, physically overpowering Darkseid in combat, moving Earth away from the sun with aid of Green Lantern while Starbreaker was pushing it toward the Sun (a feat that would require quintillions tons of force), and having the strength necessary to shatter a small planet with numerous blows. Unhealthy levels of high exposure to solar radiation can exceed Superman's "normal" strength level. ***'Superhuman Speed:' He is capable of moving, reacting, running and flying at superhuman speeds. While not as fast as the Flash, Superman can still fly at speeds faster than speed of sound. He can use this power to disarm opponents, catch bullets or shrapnel and cross vast distances in seconds. ****'Superhuman Agility' ****'Superhuman Reflexes:' Although Superman relies mostly on his invulnerability, his reaction speed is beyond faster than finest human athlete. ***'Superhuman Stamina:' He has the ability to maintain continuous physical actions for an undefined period. Clark has unlimited stamina if he is consistently exposed to Earth sunlight. ***'Flight:' Superman is capable of flying at supersonic speeds (over two thousand miles per second) in a planetary atmosphere and at faster-than-light speeds while in space. He once travelled from the Vega star to Earth - a distance of over 25 light years - in minutes if not seconds, meaning he is capable of flying over one million times the speed of light. ***'Heat Vision:' Superman can fire beams of intense heat from his eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing him to work undetected, and can be adjusted to affect matter on a microscopic level. Feats include powering up the giant ion planet moving engines, annihilating an army of Doomsday clones in one blast, potentially rivaling the heat of a Star and bypassing a target's outer shell, avoiding damage to a person's skull for surgical purposes. ***'Invulnerability:' His body is nigh-invulnerable due to his superhumanly dense cellular and anatomical structure as well as his radiating bio-electrical aura. Superman is under some circumstances resistant or immune to different forms and levels of lacerations, blunt force trauma, energy-based assaults, falls from great heights, explosions, the cold void of space, toxins and all known diseases on Earth. His supercharged bio-electric "aura" acts as an invisible "force field" radiating within a few millimeters from his skin. He can willfully utilize his aura strengthening it's power to a greater degree to provide an additional defense against certain levels of physical and energy attacks for a considerably short period of time, but doing so can endanger him should the attempted feat prove inefficient for any reason. Superman utilizes his aura by expanding it around a person or object to enable their structural stability when lifting or traveling with them. Superman's invulnerability has been in constant flux over the years. He could surviving the blast of nuclear warheads, entering the Earth's sun and emerging unharmed, withstanding the impact of an exploding star, and surviving being in the vicinity of an explosion equal to 50 supernovas while already significantly weakened by red sunlight. ***'Decelerated Aging:' Superman can potentially live indefinitely with little to no ageing to his being, so long as he continuously retains enough yellow solar radiation in his body. ***'Self-Sustenance:' He does not need to eat or sleep so long he has enough yellow solar energy (but is still capable of doing so), and doesn't require oxygen to breathe enabling him to travel in space and underwater unprotected. ***'Super-Breath:' Superman can generate hurricane force winds by blowing, and also chill his breath to freeze a target. He can also breathe in large amounts of air to dispel clouds of gas by exhaling it. ***'Superhuman Senses:' All of Superman's senses are heightened to superhuman levels. ****'Superhuman Hearing:' Superman has the ability to expand his hearing range, giving him the ability to hear sounds before the sound waves actually reaches him. This also gives him incredible hearing at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency, allowing him to pick up noises from across the globe. He has shown enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source/frequency. ****'Super Smell:' On various occasions, Superman has demonstrated that his sense of smell is significantly enhanced to the point he can smell odors across the entire planet. ****'Super Vision:' Superman also possesses a superior sensory arrangement of visual capabilities. *****'Electromagnetic Spectrum Vision:' He can see into all of the EM Spectrum. Superman can see and identify radio/television and any and all broadcast/transmitted frequencies, allowing him to avoid detection through radar or satellite monitoring methods. *****'Telescopic Vision:' The ability to focus his vision to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics. *****'Microscopic Vision:' The ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the sub atomic level. *****'X-Ray Vision:' The ability to see through anything except lead. Since it is passive, this ability would not generate harmful radiation in the same manner as a focused projection of hard X-rays. *****'Thermal Vision:' The ability of see through the heat tracks left by a living being or object. Former Powers *'Energy Matrix:' The radical mutation that had taken over Superman had turned him into an energy based life form that didn't normally exist wholly within this plane of reality. **'Energy Form:' Superman loses his traditional powers and transforms into a being of electromagnetic energy. In order to maintain physical cohesion in this form, he needs to wear a containment suit. **'Lightning Bolt Travel:' ability to travel as a bolt of lightning landing with a jolt when ever he landed. **'Density Shifting:' In this form, he can become intangible allowing him to phase through solid objects or down to the point where he is a normal human, but in this state he possessed no powers and was no more powerful that the average human male. **'Electromagnetic Spectrum Manipulation:' allows him the ability to influence all forms of energy allowing him to control magnetism, gravitational forces, radiation and electricity. **'Electromagnetic Spectrum Sight:' see in vastly expanded and different radiation spectra frequencies of energy. **'Electricity Absorption:' draw power from electrical sources. **'Electrical Blasts' **'Solid Field:' ability to produce a solid field that allowed him to physically interact with objects, he was also able to control the shape and size of his field. **'Technopathy:' ability to link with electronic systems such as computers **'Electronic Teleportation:' travel through systems much like electric current. Abilities *'Expert Combatant:' Due to having superpowers all his life and constantly engaging in battle with various foes, Superman has over time become an excellent hand-to-hand fighter utilizing a fighting style that directly complements his superpowers. Superman's combat versatility allows him to adapt to any foe and beat them. Additionally, Superman has been trained in boxing by Wildcat, Mongul in Gladiator combative methods, Wonder Woman in wrestling and even learned some advanced martial arts techniques from Batman. *'Genius Level Intellect:' He has shown incredible intelligence and computational abilities; his mind works sharply and with extreme speed relative to earth-humans. Superman's analytical powers enable him to read information directly from machines (and, with careful usage of his heat vision, he can even reprogram machines). *'Indomitable Will:' Superman has shown to have a powerful spirit, free of corruption and temptation. Having been raised by a kindly Kansas farmer and his wife, he was taught to protect life and help others. He is very optimistic and never gives up, even when things look bad. Superman has learned how to place mental inhibitors on his own power so that he doesn't accidentally "flex and cause the tectonic plates to shift." To him, they are the barriers that allow him to feel human enough to live a healthy life, and he only ever releases one of them when fighting a particularly powerful opponent or performing a difficult task. **'Torquasm Vo:' Torquasm Vo is a Kryptonian discipline that Superman uses sometimes. It is basically a means of focusing ones mental discipline to help fight adverse effects such as mental domination. It can be used to manipulate someone's mind. Superman used that ability during his fight against the Eradicator. It was used to create an illusion to let Superman enter inside the Eradicator. **'Torquasm Rao:' Allows him to tap into his instincts and separate himself from his body. Makes him able to prevent others from manipulating his mind and allows him to fight on the astral plane. *'Investigation:' Both as a superhero and as a journalist, Superman is an expert at gathering evidence from all kinds of sources. *'Journalism:' Clark is one of the best reporters on the Daily Planet, rivaled only by his wife Lois Lane. He gained a Pulitzer Prize at least in one occasion. *'Leadership:' Superman has proven many times over his ability to command respect and inspire others with his charisma, ardor, and idealism. He often serves as the primus inter pares of the Justice League. *'Ventriloquism:' Used to practice in high school. *'Multilingualism:' English, Kryptonian, and Spanish. Strength Weaknesses *'Kryptonite:' Since the destruction of Krypton, its remains (rendered radioactive by the explosion) have been spreading throughout the universe as Kryptonite, a crystalline substance whose specific radioactive wavelength is lethal to Kryptonians native to this reality. The most common form of Kryptonite is Green Kryptonite, and its effect is directly poisonous to him. Kryptonite from other realities do not necessarily have the same effects on all Kryptonians. *'Magic:' Superman's biomatrix is his most powerful asset, but the strength of this field is also its greatest weakness. Its permeability to certain wavelengths makes him vulnerable to certain radiations, particularly magical energies whose chaotic electromagnetic or extra dimensional signatures disrupt this force field. Superman's vulnerability to magic varies depending upon the special effects of the magic. He can be injured and worn down by magical entities. Magic can have powerful and unpredictable effects on Superman and his magical enemies have often proven to be the most dangerous. *'Chi:' Lex Luthor and Question argued that, because of Superman's solar based powers, planetary based esoteric and vital forces could have an opposite effect on him. Luthor posited that concentrated doses of such energies could severely cripple Superman and become fatal, and he attempted to exploit this weakness with the Science Spire, which tapped into the energies of Metropolis. Taking this into account, characters like Gloss could have a great advantage in a fight against Superman. *'Lead:' Superman cannot see through lead with his x-ray vision powers. *'Solar Energy Dependency:' His abilities will eventually weaken without replenishing his energy reserves with normal (yellow) sun radiation, especially if he doesn't have any direct contact with yellow sunlight. When exposed to the same red solar radiation as Krypton's red sun Rao, it causes Superman to lose his powers within a large amount of exposure until the exposure to yellow sunlight will reverse this effect. *'High-Pitched Noises:' Because of his super hearing, Superman's ears are extra-sensitive to extreme noises. *'Psionics' Equipment *'Legion Flight Ring and Time Bubble:' As a former or reserved member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman keeps a Legion Flight Ring (though he does not use it unless he cannot use his powers) and Time Bubble, the ring either cloaked on his hand, or like the Bubble, kept in the Fortress of Solitude. *'Archer rifle:' As Commander El of the New Kryptonian Military Guild and leading Commander of the Red Shard faction, Superman kept a standard issue Archer rifle, though he only uses to disarm or hurt, never to kill. *'All items in the Fortress of Solitude' Transportation Weapons In other media Main article: Superman (franchise) Category:Characters from comics Category:Male Characters Category:Aliens Category:Good Characters Category:Kryptonians